The departures of Robin van Persie and Radamel Falcao over the summer mean the goalscoring burden falls firmly on Wayne Rooney at Manchester United once more. Manager Louis van Gaal talked up the possibility of signing a "surprise" striker before the transfer window comes to a close, and while that may still come to fruition; United, at the time of writing, head into the season with Rooney as the primary frontman.

Supporters, though, needn't be too downbeat about it. While the prospect of signing...

That's more difficult, because you can't solve that problem overnight in the transfer market. Becoming a leader is generally a gradual progression, a quality that comes with experience at a club after years spent earning the respect of your peers.

Andy Carroll and West Ham qualified for the 2015-16 UEFA Europa League through their fair play record.

Most Premier League squads have spent the past fortnight globetrotting on lucrative preseason tours while finding time to work on fitness levels. West Ham United, however, will play their fifth competitive game of the season on Thursday, in a Europa League qualifier against Romanian club Astra Giurgiu, having already seen off the mighty duo of Andorrans Lusitanos and Birkirkara of Malta.

European football is a wonderful bonus for West Ham in their final season at Upton Park, before their three-mile...

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has said that Raheem Sterling is capable of playing in a number of positions, and that Yaya Toure still has an important role to play in the team.

Samir Nasri is primed for a strong season in 2015-16 after Man City's last campaign ended without a league title.

Manchester City's Samir Nasri is highly unusual among modern footballers, for two very different reasons.

First, he's forthcoming with opinions. This is a player who, for example, who was confronted by paparazzi while on holiday in Los Angeles this summer and ended up having a discussion about the FIFA crisis, one in which he welcomed FBI intervention. Few other footballers dared utter a word about the saga.

Second, Nasri is a relentless football watcher. One of the notable things about professional...

The ESPN FC crew discuss what Arturo Vidal would offer Bayern Munich's midfield should he join the German giants.

Of the many footballers changing clubs this summer, none are better than Arturo Vidal. The likes of Bastian Schweinsteiger, Robin van Persie and Andrea Pirlo are revered but on the way down. Perhaps only Carlos Tevez rivals Vidal as a top-quality player making a big transfer this season.

The fact three of these players are leaving Juventus summarises what a huge rebuilding job Max Allegri faces over the next month. But the real intrigue comes from Vidal's transfer to Bayern Munich.